Sunday, July 27, 2008

Caving and Camp!!!

(FYI - there are about 60 pictures from this trip....I have emailed them to a lot of people, but if you did not get the email and want to see them, leave a comment and I will email them to you.)

BEFORE AFTER
Really and truly, as I sit in severe pain in my super freaking hot house I can honestly say caving is one of the coolest things I have ever done. I never thought that trying to squeeze myself through very small crevices and holes would be something I enjoyed, but enjoy it I did. We all did actually. I think we pleasantly surprised ourselves in how daring we were. I am also proud of the fact that I can say that my big ass fit through the tight situations! It was touch and go in some places, but well worth the challenge. Our caving guide actually just graduated from high school! He was a great guide who let us choose our difficulty level and of course we pushed ourselves a great deal. My proof of that is bruises, the feeling of what it must be like to get hit in the legs with a baseball bat every time I stand up, and shoes that are mud stained for life.

Raccoon Mountain Caverns are in Chattanooga, TN. The caverns are privately owned and there is a campground there as well that we utilized for our weekend adventure. Sara convinced herself that there were some Irish Travelers (AKA - gypsies) camping around us, but other than that our neighbors were either in RV's or big huge houses. We were basically camping in some one's backyard which we did not expect. I have to admit I was jealous of whoever may be on the other side of the fence sleeping in their cozy beds while I "roughed it" on the ground. Kim is brilliant and brought a swimming pool raft to sleep on (mental note - spend a little extra on a good pool raft for the next camping excursion!) I also realized that in my next life I will make a career out of making smores. Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I make a damn good smore. If you ever want one we have a wood burning stove in our house....come over and I will make you one anytime!


If you are thinking, these people are crazy or just bored and need something to do, here's a little back story. Katie, Kim, and I hiked Tallulah Gorge Memorial Day a few years ago and we had such a good time that we started thinking we should do this kind of stuff as much as we can. Mind you, we had a good time but we also did something that all three of us were kind of nervous to do and we had to push ourselves at times. Katie had taken her students to Raccoon Mountain to do the walking tour (a short and easy 45 minute walk) so she suggested we look into the longer, harder tours. Well, a year later we have done it! If you have any suggestions for what our next adventure could be, please feel free to comment. We like to keep them fairly close to home where we can camp or rent a cabin. We are also trying not to spend a lot of money on these trips!
You may be wondering why Seth didn't brave the caves! Seth left Saturday for MDA camp for a week. He is a counselor at MDA camp every summer. I will let him blog about camp and let you know all about it if he wants to, but I can say that I went to visit him for the first time at camp today. I only went for a couple of hours, but I didn't want to leave. The people that run Camp Twin Lakes and MDA camp put so much of themselves into working with these kids and it's such an awesome thing to see. I know Seth was exhausted but he is so amazing with the kids. He and Levi (his brother) are SO much fun and the kids really love them. There will be pictures from camp (hopefully in Seth's blog) coming soon!





4 comments:

  1. I am REALLY proud of us and I had so much fun! I can't wait for our next adventure!

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  2. You all look so cute in your goofy hats! HAHA- looks like you had a great time...Corey caved their for a bachelor party a few years ago and is dying to go back!

    ~ Christine :)

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